Chapter 42
FORTY-TWO
FENRIR
PRESENT
Putting on some deodorant and then running a comb through my hair, I wait ten minutes for Hayami to get dressed.
It wasn’t the dream of her sitting on my face that woke me.
No, it was the reality of her grinding her ass against my hard-on.
Because that wasn’t a dream. That was real.
She was curled up next to me, rubbing herself against me, and there was no way on this earth I could lie there any longer without crawling on top of her and taking care of whatever dream she was having.
It must have woken her, my hotfooting it into the en suite and turning on the shower, but I was too wrapped up in taking care of my needs to think she would get out of bed and come watch the show.
But she did.
It should have made me stop, should have dried up all my carnal desires when she ducked from the open door.
Instead, it only made me come harder. The only thing I’m unsure of is how she felt when she was watching me.
I’d like to think that if she’d been repulsed, she would’ve stopped looking and moved away well before the end.
Or was it like a car crash where you couldn’t help but stare even though you didn’t want to?
Besides, I have no idea how long she’d been there, so I guess I’ll never know.
Whatever she felt, the atmosphere is now thick and palpable, and I’m not sure how long we’ll be able to keep up this facade that everything is normal.
Checking my watch, I head back into her room to find her dressed in leggings and a hoodie.
“Wasn’t sure what’s on the agenda for today, so I went with casual,” she says, running her fingers through her hair.
“I thought we were going out for lunch to some fancy restaurant, followed by a little shopping spree before catching a show, but then I remembered we’re stuck on a mountain in a snowstorm and also hiding from gang lords, so I put back the Versace number Nita must have packed for me. ”
She’s opting for humour—her defence mechanism when she doesn’t know what else to do—and I’m relieved. Her only other line of defence is attack, which I’ve been on the receiving end of far too many times to count, so I’ll settle for the comedy.
“We’re digging a path to the wood store and then probably target practice, but only if that fits in with your agenda.”
Hayami raises her eyebrows. “My agenda consists of drinking hot chocolate and reading for most of the day, so, yeah, I suppose I have a window. Have you seen how bad the snow is?”
I edge over to the balcony doors and pull back the curtains.
The glare hurts my eyes, the white so bright it’s almost glowing.
Everything is covered in snow.
The trees. The ground. The bushes.
“It’s like someone has dusted the whole place with icing sugar,” Hayami says as she joins me. “It’s so quiet. Why does snow make everything silent and peaceful?”
“I suppose it’s the white,” I say. Hayami looks confused, so I add, “Colour of innocence.”
“Wow, that’s a little philosophical for this early hour,” she points out.
“It’s eleven o’clock.”
“Okay, maybe not that early, but I think you’re right. White just makes everything look so clean and calm. I almost don’t want to ruin it by going outside and making footprints.”
“I don’t think they’ll remain for long at the rate the snow is still falling,” I tell her.
“Then why are we going out and digging a path to the wood store if there’s more snow forecast? Shouldn’t we wait until the worst is over?”
“We need more wood. Better to go now than when it’s doubled in depth. We’ll salt the walkway to try and discourage it from settling. Although, I don’t think it’ll make much difference.”
There’s a beep from Willa’s phone, which is on the bedside cabinet.
Striding across the room, I reach the bed and pick it up. There’s a message.
“Markus wants an update.”
Hayami joins me and takes the phone from my hand. She’s better at pretending to be Willa than I am. Markus would know the second I replied that something was amiss, as I have no way of filtering my answers.
“What should I tell him?” she asks.
“Tell him that we’re all okay and stuck in the house due to a snowstorm. Tell him that this helps our situation, as no one could reach the house even if they wanted to.”
Hayami types out a text and then passes it to me.
Nothing to report other than two feet of snow surrounding the property.
No need to worry. We have supplies. The only good thing about the snow is that no one is getting within spitting distance of us, as all the roads are impassable.
Hayami is fine. She’s been busy with her coursework. Over and out.
It’s perfect—businesslike enough to be an official report of what’s going on, but also with the little chatty side of Willa.
You don’t work within a team without getting to know one another, and Willa has been working for the Devalls for the last six years.
Markus told me that Willa is the longest-standing female bodyguard Hayami’s had who hasn’t left after one of her tantrums.
Feeling like I’m detonating a bomb, I hit Send and we wait several seconds before the phone beeps, making me jump.
We read it together.
Keep an eye on the weather and keep me informed.
“Markus is so miserable,” Hayami says, pocketing Willa’s phone.
“He has a stressful job,” I tell her. “And he has to answer to your father.”
“Don’t we all?” She moves over to the door. “Come on, this snow isn’t going to shovel itself.”
* * *
Hayami wipes her forehead, pushing her woolly hat up and squinting at me.
“Fuck me, this is hard work.” She pulls a strand of hair from her face and tucks it into her coat. “I can’t see shit because of the snow, my back is killing me, and my hands are red raw even under my gloves.”
We’ve been clearing the path for just over an hour. It’s one of those jobs where you feel like you’re getting nowhere, like trying to clear sand from the desert.
“Go inside. I’ll finish up,” I tell her as I heave another mound of snow to the side.
“I’m not quitting. I’m just saying that this is no fun.”
“There aren’t many things in life that are fun.”
“No, I guess not.” She leans on her shovel. “You ever had a snowball fight?”
I stop and look at her. Her eyes are narrow, and there’s a hint of a smirk at the corners of her mouth. My heart rate spikes.
“Not since I was a kid.”
She lays down her shovel and picks up some snow.
“Don’t even think about it,” I tell her, but she just grins. “This won’t end well.”
“I don’t doubt that,” she says, rolling the snow into a smooth ball.
“You throw that at me, and I’ll come for you.” There’s a growl to my voice that isn’t intentional, and I can imagine that neither is the flush that works its way up Hayami’s cheeks. I wonder if she’s thinking the same thing as me, about how much I’d love to chase her.
* * *
HAYAMI
I gulp.
This wouldn’t be the first time Fenrir has chased me.
The last time I ran from him was at the fair, when he stopped me from going on the ghost train with a guy I’d met at university. I’d been trying to run away from my problems. When he’d caught me, I asked him how I could escape my life.
He never answered me, as we were disturbed by Bastian. But here, now, with a snowball cupped in my hand, I wonder if I can outrun him this time.
With a shriek, I launch the snowball right at his face. As soon as it leaves my hand, the adrenaline pumps down into my legs and sets me off running.
But the snow is so deep that I barely move. I try to wade through it, but it’s up past my knees, and my boots aren’t the best for quick movements.
When I reach the edge of the drive, that’s when I feel the snowball hit the back of my head. Ice slithers down my neck.
“Shit, that’s cold,” I say as I turn. He’s right behind me, balling the snow casually, just striding up with a devilish look in his eyes that makes my knees go weak.
I bend to pick up some snow, but he’s too close. I try to run again, but just as I pick up my pace, another snowball hits the back of my coat, and I scream and laugh.
As I turn, I hold my hands up in mock defence, and just before he reaches me, I say, “I surrender. You got me.”
But he’s already got me, already has his arms around me. I hold on to his forearms, and his smile disappears.
Dropping my arms, I step back. What’s happening here? Why do I feel this attraction to him? And does he feel it too, or am I just a job to him?
I’ve no way of knowing the answers.
He presses his lips together and says, “You shouldn’t start things you can’t finish, Hayami,” and I’m not sure whether he’s referring to the snowball fight or something else entirely.